Painted X-Ray (formerly known as Ilk) gigs in August

Painted X-Ray (taiko, guitar, bass, violin) are playing in George Square, in the centre of Glasgow, on Friday 3rd August for Mix the City Live. (‘Mix the City’ is a British Council project where twelve musicians/bands are filmed in each city and short excerpts of their music are put on the Mix the City platform, where they can then be mixed – Glasgow is the first UK city to be ‘mixed’ and maybe the first one to include taiko too…)

Also, at the Pianodrome in the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh on the 16th August, and at The Glad Cafe in Glasgow on the 18th August.

Ilk at the CCA, Glasgow, 23rd June CANCELLED (due to temporary CCA closure due to fire at Glasgow School of Art)

Ilk (a band with taiko, guitar, bass and violin) are playing at the CCA, Glasgow, on Saturday 23rd June, with Edinburgh band Dominic Waxing Lyrical.

+ Beginners taiko workshop in the afternoon

Georgie from Ilk (and Taikotronik) is also hosting a beginner’s taiko workshop in the afternoon. If you haven’t played taiko but fancy giving it a bash, come along…WORKSHOP STILL ON BUT NOW MOVED TO The Space at 257 London Road, Glasgow

Velma gig at The Flying Duck, Glasgow, 10th November

Velma are a new flute/s, taiko and electronics project (by Georgie McGeown from Ilk) and are playing at a night hosted by Mhenwar Huws at The Flying Duck on Friday 10th November. (Just one of their songs will feature taiko at this gig, though more taiko instrumentation is in the works.)

There’s quite a bit of taiko happening at The Space near the Barras in Glasgow on Saturday 4th November, during an all-day event hosted by On the Corner studio.

Kick off is at 2pm with a drop-in taiko workshop by Taikotronik (Georgie from Ilk). Velma (a flute band with a wee bit of taiko) are playing a short set at 4.25pm, Ilk(taiko, guitar, bass, violin) close the day with a set at 8.20pm, and there are numerous other bands in between.

Mugenkyo on UK tour with Hiroshi Motofuji in November

Mugenkyo are shortly going on tour for a month with legendary Japanese taiko player Hiroshi Motofuji. As well as being a totally hotshot player, Motofuji is also known for his experimental and innovative collaborations with other instrumentalists, including using taiko in rock music.

They’ll be in Falkirk on the 26th November. Click here for the full list of UK dates: Mugenkyo tour dates

Velma (flute band with a bit of taiko) gig at 13th Note, Glasgow, 5th October

Velma is a new flute project by Georgie McGeown of Ilk, featuring a wee bit of taiko as well. Their first gig is at the 13th Note, supporting Shilpa Ray.

Taiko classes by Taikotronik

A fresh block of taiko classes begins on Monday 14th August in Glasgow, hosted by TAIKOTRONIK (Georgie McGeown from Ilk). All levels welcome. Click here for more details: Taikotronik taiko classes

Ilk summer gigs

Ilk are playing at the Mugstock festival, in Mugdock country park just north of Glasgow, on Friday 28th July, at Nice’N’Sleazy, Glasgow on Tuesday 1st August, and at The Clamjamfry festival, near Irvine in North Ayrshire, on Saturday 12th August. Click here for more details: Ilk gigs

Learn to play taiko with TAIKOTRONIK

TAIKOTRONIK (a.k.a. Georgie McGeown from Ilk) is running some summer taiko workshops – click on the pic for more info:

From Taiko to Txalaparta: “The beautiful wooden tones of the Basque Country’s txalaparta and the low rumbling bass of Japanese Taiko drums are explored in this special performance exploring traditional folk instruments and their respective musical cultures.”

Ilk gig at McChuills in Glasgow 5th Feb

Ilk (taiko, guitar, bass, violin) are playing at McChuills, 40 High St, Glasgow, along with loads of other bands on Sunday 5th February.

Doors 7pm, free entry, in aid of Refuweegee.
Click on the pic for the Facebook event:

Issho Drummers at Celtic Connections 4th Feb

Issho Drummers – Taiko to Txalaparta will be at The Glad Cafe as part of the Celtic Connections festival on the 4th February, 7.30pm.

“Issho combine intricate patterns, voice, gongs, bag-pipes and found sounds to create an evening ranging from subtle meditative moments through to eye watering intensity, utilising the beautiful wooden tones of the Basque countries txalaparta and the low rumbling bass of Japanese taiko drums.”

Taiko classes starting in February

TaikoTronik will be running an eight-week course of beginners taiko classes, starting on the 6th February 2017. Click here for details: TaikoTronik classes

TaikoTronik students playing at Glad Café 17th Nov

TaikoTronik are playing at The Glad Cafe, 1006a Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow on Thursday 17th November around 7pm.

There’ll be a couple of pieces from TaikoTronik students, most of whom only started playing taiko 8 weeks ago (!), with a wee piece from Georgie McGeown (TaikoTronik, Ilk) and Alison Roe (Ilk) as well.

Ilk gigs in Glasgow and Edinburgh 25th & 26th Oct

Ilk – “a band with taiko at its heart” – has a couple of gigs coming up:

Taiko with dance at Dundee Community Harvest

Alison Roe will be playing taiko with dancers Joan Cleville and Solène Weinachter at the celebration of Dundee Urban Orchard’s first community harvest on Saturday 22nd October.

It’s taking place at Dundee University Botanic Gardens from 11am – 3pm with a variety of activities, including apple pressing, storytelling, art-making, talks, community stalls…

The taiko and dance will be kicking off around 2pm – around a tall yew tree if the weather’s fine.

Click on the pic for more information or click here for the facebook event.

TaikoTronik: taiko workshops on the Southside

A series of taiko workshops kicks off on Monday 16th September in Shawlands. Workshops are every Monday evening and you don’t need any previous experience of taiko playing. Sessions are run by TaikoTronik (Georgie McGeown).

Taiko’s incredibly exhilarating and Georgie’s a great teacher. Give it a bash!

gig: IKKI taiko from Japan with iSSHO from Glasgow

Samurai Drum IKKI from Japan are playing at The Glad Cafe in Glasgow on Sunday 28th August with support from iSSHO & Friends, an experimental taiko group based in Glasgow. A whole range of taiko styles on offer here.

ilk: new band with taiko

taiko and flute performance

Flutes Unlimited, a flute choir based in the Southside of Glasgow, have their annual concert in Shawlands Kirk, 5 Moss-side Road, on Sunday 15th May.

In addition to the flute ensemble pieces, Georgie McGeown (flute) and Alison Roe (taiko) will perform a piece, “TRKs”, by contemporary flute composer Ian Clarke. The original version is solo flute with a backing track. However, we’ve replaced the backing track with a live taiko base line. Concert starts at 7.30pm.

(Update: Georgie McGeown has since started a flute project, which will occasionally feature taiko, called Velma.)